The Earlies - The Enemy Chorus

Hailing from both Texas and Lancashire, The Earlies certainly haven't let geography stand in their way. What must make recording an album a logistical nightmare has surely allowed these guys to have an amalgamation of similar influences from both sides of the pond, featuring laser guided pop melodies with the potential to direct you back to some of your favourite psychedelia of recent times. 'Foundation and Earth' flows with a soft rock brass section that would make the Beta Bad blush, while the hypnotic 'Bad Is As Bad Does' is as trippy as anything you'll hear on a Mercury Rev record. 'When the Wind Blows' is the highlight and with a string section, prog-tinged synth and Brian Wilson-esque harmonies, it's hard not to be swept away, pun intended. Like a lot of the record though, it wears its influences on proudly on its sleeve and you can't help but feel that a little more experimentation would have steered this further clear of psych by numbers. This isn't to say that The Enemy Chorus isn't a good record but it often thirsts for much more in the way of originality than it ultimately carries. [Garry Thomson]